Rav Shlomo Moshe Amar, the Rishon L’Tzion, may be surrounded by pomp and ceremony, yet he insists that the job has not changed him; he remains firmly planted in the tradition he received from his fathers — a Torah rooted in temimus and simplicity. Fifty years after he left his native Morocco for Eretz Yisrael, Rav Amar spoke about the journey that took him from the fields of Ofakim to the halls of Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbinate.
In Eretz Yisrael the Chief Rabbinate consists of both an Ashkenazic and Sephardic chief rabbi who are both elected for ten-year terms. Although the job requires frequent public appearances and entails other ceremonial aspects the rav who occupies the position is not a powerless figurehead. The two chief rabbis assisted by members of the Chief Rabbinate Council have jurisdiction over many aspects of Jewish life in the country including Jewish marriages and divorces Jewish burials kashrus conversions supervising holy sites and overseeing mikvaos yeshivos and batei din.
The offices of the Chief Rabbinate are located in central Jerusalem. Before I am admitted inside I am asked for my passport and ushered through a metal detector. When I enter Rav Amar’s spacious and attractive office I can’t help but think: It’s a long way from Casablanca.
The rav who gives an immediate impression of youthfulness and vigor welcomes me with a broad smile. His large soulful black eyes sparkle with life and enthusiasm. His beard is graying but his step and demeanor are energetic.
The pomp and ceremony of the outer office belies the simplicity of the occupant inside. The road from the tarmac at Lod to his prestigious office wasn’t always smooth a fact that he hasn’t forgotten. Though he no longer has to sell seforim to “make Shabbos” little else about him has changed.
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